County: Westmeath Site name: MULLINGAR: Church Avenue
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 19:89 Licence number: 99E0127
Author: Clare Mullins
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 643712m, N 752842m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.523729, -7.340781
Testing was carried out at the site of a proposed extension to All Saints National School, Church Avenue, Mullingar, on 26 April 1999. The extension was to consist of the addition of a room to each end of the existing building.
The site is to the south of All Saints Church, immediately beyond the area of the present-day perimeter of the church grounds. The site was formerly part of the garden of the rectory associated with the church. The ground surface within the development area was c. 1m lower than that of the graveyard to its immediate north, suggesting some interference with natural ground levels, possibly during the construction of the school.
Two test-trenches were inserted, to coincide approximately with the front gable walls of the proposed extension. Stratigraphy within Trench 1 consisted of a sod layer to a depth of 0.2m, lying directly upon the natural. It was clear from this trench that the ground had been truncated in this particular area, probably during the construction phase associated with the building of the school.
Stratigraphy within Trench 2 consisted of a deep layer of topsoil that lay upon the natural at a depth of 1.4m. At the western end of this trench what was interpreted as a stone-filled sump was found between the layer of topsoil and natural. It is difficult to explain the considerable depth of the topsoil in the area of Trench 2, but it may represent an attempt to level up the area. Several fragments of bone were found within the topsoil here but were all of animal origin.
31 Millford, Athgarvan, Co. Kildare
